Aspartame (a-Laspartyl-L-phenylalanine 1-methylester) is a dipeptide low-calorie artificial sweetener that is widely used as a nonnutritive sweetener in foods and drinks. The safety of aspartame and its metabolic breakdown products (phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol) was investigated in vivo using chromosomal aberration (CA) test and sister chromatid exchange (SCE) test in the bone marr...

OBJECTIVE To examine the in vitro and in vivo attributes of aspartame and to determine its efficacy for treating sickle cell anemia. RATIONALE Aspartame (l-aspartyl-l-phenylalanine methyl ester) binds with 2 human Bence Jones proteins. The proteins (Mcg and Sea) showed phenylalanine penetrating into hydrophobic binding sites. This aspartame property suggested a potential to interfere with sic...

No-caloric sweeteners, such as aspartame, are widely used in various food and beverages to prevent the increasing rates of obesity and diabetes mellitus, acting as tools in helping control caloric intake. Aspartame is metabolized to phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol. Our aim was to study the effect of chronic administration of aspartame on glutathione redox status and on the trans-sulp...

Aspartame is an O-methyl ester composed of phenylalanine and aspartic acid. After its final approval as a sweetener in 1981, a number of reports of adverse reactions to aspartame appeared in the literature. To explore the pathogenesis of such reactions, we initiated a study in July 1986 to identify subjects with hypersensitivity reactions to aspartame with blinded challenge procedures. The stud...

Previous studies have linked aspartame consumption to impaired retention of learned behavior in rodents. Prenatal exposure to aspartame has also been shown to impair odor-associative learning in guinea pigs; and recently, aspartame-fed hyperlipidemic zebrafish exhibited weight gain, hyperglycemia and acute swimming defects. We therefore investigated the effects of chronic lifetime exposure to a...

BACKGROUND Dietary sweeteners may contribute to metabolic dysregulation and cardiovascular disease (CVD), but this has not been assessed in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). METHODS One hundred twenty-four HIV-infected and 56 non-HIV-infected participants, without history of known coronary artery disease were included. Dietary intake was assessed using a 4-day food record. Coronary plaque w...

Sir,—Digestion of the sweetener aspartame yields aspartic acid and phenylalanine, plus methanol. has questioned aspartame's safety, alleging (1) that methanol is a "cumulative poison", (2) that a toxicity syndrome is producible "only in humans", (3) that "formaldehyde is a known carcinogen", (4) that ethanol protects against methanol in food sources, (5) that the. Environmental Protection Agenc...

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener in foods and beverages. Continuous use of aspartame will result oxidative stress the liver. So we need antioxidants from outside body such as periwinkle leaves.This study aims to determine effect leaves (Catharanthus roseus L) on aspartame-induced liver histology. This used 24 male mice divided into 4 groups, namely negative control (K-) without treatment; P...

This study investigated whether the addition of the high-intensity sweetener aspartame to a multidisciplinary weight-control program would improve weight loss and long-term control of body weight. One hundred sixty-three obese women were randomly assigned to consume or to abstain from aspartame-sweetened foods and beverages during 16 wk of a 19-wk weight-reduction program (active weight loss), ...

Aspartame is a widely used artificial sweetener that has been linked to pediatric and adolescent migraines. Upon ingestion, aspartame is broken, converted, and oxidized into formaldehyde in various tissues. We present the first case series of aspartame-associated migraines related to clinically relevant positive reactions to formaldehyde on patch testing.